My floor near my water heater is warm all the time. The water heater is sitting on a raised platform in my garage. The platform is not warm, but the garage floors are warm. I donot hear any water sound from my T&P valve, but the drain is warm. Could there be a leak in the T&P valve, that's warming my floor? This all started when my water bills were high. I checked my water meter and it is running even when no water is being used in the home. I checked all toilets and faucet for leak, but none were. Any advice?

Hi Arunibb...

Does the T&P valve tubing go into the floor? If so, and the tubing is warm along its entire length then I suspect a defective T&P valve and suggest that you replace it with a new one. I WOULD NOT reinstall the tube to under the floor and am glad to discuss alternative locations if you want.

More questions? Let us know, OK?

Mark

I found the drain outlet outside the home from the t&p valve. It is not leaking and working fine. If I stop the inlet water to the water heater, then my water meter stops. I can't figure out where the hot water is leaking into. We are losing almost 100+ gallons a day! NO sign of water anywhere.

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My floor near my water heater is warm all the time.

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I checked my water meter and it is running even when no water is being used in the home.

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If I stop the inlet water to the water heater, then my water meter stops.

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With those symptoms I don't see how it could be anything other than a leak in a hot water pipe under the garage slab.

Thanks for the info. After reading more about hot water leaks under slab, I believe I might have the same problem. How much does repairing the leak cost on Average. Would home insurance cover any of this? Thanks

Hmmmm. Sounds like you may have a leak... Do you have a shut of valve on the water heater? If so, turn it of, and then take a look at the water meter to make sure that the leak is where we all suspect it is. For a leak under the slab, you can try and find the leak yourself, but just because the floor is warm near the water heater does not necessarily mean the leak is located right there. The leak can be located a couple or more feet away, and as the water flows back, following the pipe, the warmth is most apparent near the water heater. Try calling a leak detection company to find it correctly and accurately. Make sure if they are off you don't pay (the good ones aren't of very often) try United Leak Detection if you live in the Midwest. If you live elsewhere, Google it. Unfortunately, repairing such a leak usually involves breaking the slab to access the pipe and repair it. On the bright side, the repair may be covered by you homeowners insurance.

Is your garage attached or detached from the house?

House is attached to my garage

If house is on a basement or foundation why not just cut hot water line, replumb and take it to house wall into basement or crawl space and reconnect. If you are in an area where garage might freeze, put on heat tape and insulate.

If house is on a slab, no choice but to open up garage floor.

Not that costly if you do it yourself. Almost all the cost is in the labor.

Don't delay on repairs. Remember you are putting a 100 gallons of water under garage every day. Until repairs are made, suggest you turn off cold water input to water heater. Turn back on temporarily when you need hot water.

Slab leaks are often covered at least in part by homeowner's insurance. The cost varies based on not only where you live, but on where the leak is located. A couple of insurance companies will not cover the cost, but most will. They will cover the cost to find the leak, cut the concrete, remove the backfill, and put the fill, concrete and flooring back together. They will not cover the cost of cutting the pipe to repair it nor the repair materials. They will only cover a sopt repair and will not cover a re-route or the cost to run a new line.

The leak detection company has marked the leak spot inside our Shoe closet which is very close to the water heater/Garage wall. The est. cost for fixing by jackhammerring method will be $1250-1550 . Which does not include removing the existing hardwood floor and redoing it.
The other method of repairing he suggested was epiping which is expensive but effective for small leaks.
My insurance adjuster is yet to come visit the property to see if they will cover any of these repairs.

Epoxy coating. It is a cool technology that has been around since the 80's so its well tested, and if done by a good company, should yield good results. It can certainly fill in pin-hole leaks, and if you are concerned about additional leaks, it will coat over thinning pipe before it has a chance to develop into a leak. It is great is breaking up concrete is not an option, or if asbestos or another circumstance make spot repairs, re-pipes or other options unfeasible. It is cost prohibitive, and I have NEVER heard of a homeowners insurance company covering any of the cost for an epoxy coating (or re-pipes or re-routes). Please let me know if they do. Depending on your company, you are quite likely to have most of the cost of the slab leak labor and repair and the flooring tear out and replacement covered (with the exception being the actual cost of the new pipe materials, and the labor to cut out the existing leak's location and the labor to repair the pipe). Most companies will cover the cost, a couple of the larger companies are less likely to (unless you have additional damage that you have not mentioned). Good Luck.

The homeowners insurance is not covering the slab repair costs, as no damage (visible) is done to the home yet. We have a post-tension slab and would need a concrete scan done before repairs. How difficult/safe it is to work on a post-tension slab once scanning is done. The plumbers I called are quoting $500-700 to do the slab repair. The scanning is costing $350-$500 depending on the company. Are these charges reasonable.

Repiping and epiping are more expensive and we may not be able to afford at this moment.

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Repiping and epiping are more expensive and we may not be able to afford at this moment.

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As I pointed out back in post #9 you cannot let this continue. You said that you are losing about 100 gallons a day through this leak.
That means that you are putting 100 gallons a day under your house. If this continues very long you will have very serious foundation problems.

I live in the Midwest, and the charges that you have been quoted are by no means out of line with a good price here. While you are breaking the slab, that has undergone the post-tension process, and of course you would rather not reduce the durability of the work that has been done to it, you really have no other choices in your situation than a spot repair or the re-route. Re-routing if you are able may be a better option because it will save the slab from bring broken. With a post-tension slab, do you live in an earthquake prone area or very cold? If it is cold, you may have increased risk of damage due to freeze and thaw if you continue to allow the water to run under your home. The cost for the spot repair seems reasonable. I would go with it as soon as possible. Who is your insurance carrier?